Expert: Subordination to Constantinople instead Tomos

Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople

Instead of autocephaly and Tomos came the subordination to the Church of Constantinople. This was announced by the Director of the Ukrainian Institute for Policy Analysis and Management, expert Ruslan Bortnik, informs the First Cossack Ukrainian channel.

The political analyst explained that neither autocephaly nor Tomos were provided to Ukraine, but only reported that they had begun this process, which could continue indefinitely.

“Everything that Constantinople – it recognized his Stavropegion, that is, his right of ownership to all church buildings, be it the Kiev Patriarchate, the Moscow Church or the autocephalous church,” Bortnik said.

According to the political expert, there was no social sense in removing the anathemas from Filaret and Makariy, “because, by and large, their updated rank was not recognized by supporters of the UOC KP and the UAOC.”

“At the same time, Constantinople did not recognize the UOC KP and the UAOC as structures, organizations,” Bortnik noted. “It restored their right to be called priests, but did not recognize their structure. In fact, today Filaret has been deprived of the self-fashioned dignity of the patriarch.”

Everything that Constantinople has been doing is meant to take the situation under its control, the political analyst believes.

“We used to be with Constantinople for 700 years, with Moscow – for 300 years and so will we again get into situation with half of the population within the UOC and half with Constantinople? Where is the Local Church then? Will it ever be? I very much doubt that Constantinople will allow the new patriarch to appear in Kiev. Most likely, we are talking about some form of autonomy or exarchy controlled by Constantinople,” said the expert, adding that the president and politicians will try to “sell” this situation as a great victory because of the upcoming elections.

Earlier, Ruslan Bortnik said that the UOC KP and the UAOC, which advocated the granting of the Tomos, “were captured” eventually.

On 11 October, 2018, the Synod of the Constantinople Patriarchate made a decision to reestablish the Stavropegion of Constantinople Patriarchate in Kiev. The Phanar also revoked  a “legal binding of the Synodal letter of 1686” on the transfer of the Kiev Metropolitanate to the Moscow Patriarchate.

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